EP3206043B1 - Innenortungssystem - Google Patents

Innenortungssystem Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3206043B1
EP3206043B1 EP17153372.2A EP17153372A EP3206043B1 EP 3206043 B1 EP3206043 B1 EP 3206043B1 EP 17153372 A EP17153372 A EP 17153372A EP 3206043 B1 EP3206043 B1 EP 3206043B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
room
mobile device
received signal
unit
signal strength
Prior art date
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Active
Application number
EP17153372.2A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP3206043A1 (de
Inventor
Reuven Amsalem
Shalom Tsruya
Niv Raz
Daniel Aljadeff
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Aeroscout Ltd
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Aeroscout Ltd
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Publication date
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Priority to EP19165144.7A priority Critical patent/EP3524998A3/de
Publication of EP3206043A1 publication Critical patent/EP3206043A1/de
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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/02—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using radio waves
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/30—Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
    • H04W4/33—Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/02—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using radio waves
    • G01S5/14—Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S11/00—Systems for determining distance or velocity not using reflection or reradiation
    • G01S11/02—Systems for determining distance or velocity not using reflection or reradiation using radio waves
    • G01S11/06—Systems for determining distance or velocity not using reflection or reradiation using radio waves using intensity measurements
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/0009—Transmission of position information to remote stations
    • G01S5/0018—Transmission from mobile station to base station
    • G01S5/0036—Transmission from mobile station to base station of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/0009—Transmission of position information to remote stations
    • G01S5/0045—Transmission from base station to mobile station
    • G01S5/0054—Transmission from base station to mobile station of actual mobile position, i.e. position calculation on base station
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/0009—Transmission of position information to remote stations
    • G01S5/0045—Transmission from base station to mobile station
    • G01S5/0063—Transmission from base station to mobile station of measured values, i.e. measurement on base station and position calculation on mobile
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/02—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using radio waves
    • G01S5/0295—Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S2205/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S2205/01—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations specially adapted for specific applications
    • G01S2205/02—Indoor

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to location systems, especially to so-called real time locations systems (RTLS), in which wireless mobile devices such as tags, transponders and/or mobile communications devices are located, and preferably tracked, by means of wireless signal transmissions.
  • RTLS real time locations systems
  • the invention particularly relates to indoor location systems, i.e. location systems arranged to locate mobile devices within buildings.
  • Such location systems are used for locating, and preferably tracking, articles and/or people associated with respective wireless mobile devices.
  • Location systems are used in a wide range of environments, including hospitals and other healthcare situations, social care environments, prisons, industrial locations, warehouses, retail stores, educational institutions, offices and logistics environments, for example.
  • Such systems are used for locating and tracking patients (especially babies and the elderly) and other categories of people, and for locating and tracking medical supplies, equipment, products, tools and other categories of articles.
  • WLAN wireless local area network
  • WPAN wireless personal area network
  • LR-WPAN low-rate wireless personal area network
  • RFID radio frequency identification
  • UWB ultra-wideband
  • WLAN technologies include those conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series of standards (e.g. Wi-Fi (TM)).
  • IEEE 802.11 series of standards e.g. Wi-Fi (TM)
  • WPAN and LR-WPAN technologies include those conforming to the IEEE 802.15 series of standards (e.g. Bluetooth (TM), ZigBee (TM), etc.).
  • the wireless mobile devices which are located and tracked in location systems may, for example, be tags, transponders or mobile communications and/or computer devices, and they may be active and/or passive.
  • active wireless mobile devices may function as "beacons" which periodically emit wireless signals indicating their presence.
  • Passive wireless mobile devices may, for example, function as transponders, only emitting wireless signals in response to wireless signals emitted by wireless emitters of the location system.
  • Some wireless mobile devices may function sometimes as passive devices and at other times as active devices.
  • the wireless mobile devices may be self-powered (e.g. battery powered) or may obtain their power from the wireless signals emitted by wireless emitters of the location system.
  • Mobile communications devices used in location systems include, for example: mobile (e.g. cellular) telephones, including smart phones; portable computer devices, e.g. tablet computers, laptop computers, handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), GPS devices; etc.
  • location systems use a variety of techniques for calculating the locations of wireless mobile devices. For example, some location systems use the times at which wireless transmissions from wireless mobile devices are received (i.e. time-of-arrival (TOA) information), for example in order to calculate differences in times-of-arrival between different wireless receivers and to use the calculated time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) information to calculate the locations of the wireless mobile devices. Alternatively, other location systems use the times at which wireless transmissions from wireless transmitters are received (i.e.
  • TOA time-of-arrival
  • TDOA time-difference-of-arrival
  • time-of-arrival (TOA) information at a wireless mobile device, for example in order to calculate differences in times-of-arrival between different wireless transmitters and to use the calculated time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) information to calculate the location of the wireless mobile device.
  • location systems may use received signal strengths (e.g. received signal strength indication, RSSI), and/or angle of arrival (AOA) information, and/or round-trip time (RTT) information, radio map fingerprinting information, location information from nearby tags/transponders, satellite location information, etc.
  • RSSI received signal strength indication
  • AOA angle of arrival
  • RTT round-trip time
  • Each of US 6,529,164 and WO 2007/070103 discloses an indoor location system according to the preamble of Claim 1.
  • the system is initially set up by charting and tabulating beacon signal strengths for each room, and by tabulating normal travel times between rooms.
  • the beacons which produce the highest RSSI values are identified, and the beacon RSSI values are compared with the pre-tabulated values in order to try to identify the room in which a mobile transceiver is located. If two or more different locations are possible, then the beacon reception times are compared with the pre-tabulated travel times to determine the most likely location of the mobile transceiver.
  • the locations of the beacons are pre-determined, and during use of the system, signal strengths of beacon signals received by a mobile tag are measured. If the strongest beacon signal exceeds a pre-determined first threshold value, the tag is determined to be within that beacon's area, e.g. room.
  • the first threshold value is pre-determined from the expected signal strength from a beacon in a typical size room to an unobstructed tag in that same typical size room (or other area where the beacon is located). If the highest beacon signal strengths are below the first threshold value but above a pre-determined second threshold value, then triangulation is used in order to try to determine the location of the tag.
  • the second threshold value is pre-determined from the expected signal strength from a beacon in a typical adjacent room to an unobstructed tag in an adjoining room.
  • a confidence level of determined location may be calculated, and a weighting based on relative signal strengths may be used in the triangulation calculation.
  • WO 2007/067592 discloses an indoor location system according to the preamble of Claim 2.
  • the system is initially set up by accurately mapping the locations of all of the fixed wireless receivers, and during use of the system the received signal strength at each receiver, of a beaconing signal emitted by a mobile beaconing device, is measured.
  • the location of the mobile beaconing device is determined based on the strongest signal strength, for example by simply determining that the beaconing device is closest to the receiver that reports the strongest signal strength, or if a more accurate location is required, by triangulation and using an error reduction algorithm, optionally also using the times of receipt of the beaconing signal.
  • a problem associated with known indoor location systems is how to determine which room of a building a particular wireless mobile device is located in - i.e. room discrimination.
  • a "room” is meant an area of a building separated from other areas of the building by one or more internal walls, and by one or more floors/ceilings if the building has more than a single storey. Corridors, hallways, vestibules, stairwells, etc. are thus regarded as being “rooms” herein.
  • RF radio frequency
  • the present invention provides an indoor location system according to Claim 1.
  • a second aspect of the invention provides an indoor location system according to Claim 2.
  • the invention can entail a method of locating a mobile device in a building by means of an indoor location system according to the first aspect of the invention, the method comprising: positioning at least one RF unit in each of a plurality of rooms of the building; each RF unit emitting the radio frequency beacon signals; the mobile device receiving at least some of the beacon signals and determining a received signal strength of each of the received beacon signals; and the mobile device, or optionally a said computer module, calculating from the received signal strengths a room-representative received signal strength for each room from which the beacon signals have been received, and determining which room the mobile device is located in, by selecting the room having the highest value of calculated room-representative received signal strength.
  • the invention can entail a method of locating a mobile device in a building by means of an indoor location system according to the second aspect of the invention, the method comprising: positioning at least one RF unit in each of a plurality of rooms of the building; the mobile device emitting the radio frequency beacon signals; and each of a plurality of the RF units receiving one or more of the beacon signals, determining a received signal strength of each of the received beacon signals and communicating the received signal strengths to: (a) the mobile device, or (b) a said computer module; and the mobile device or the computer module calculating from the received signal strengths a room-representative received signal strength for each room from which the received signal strengths have been communicated, and determining which room the mobile device is located in, by selecting the room having the highest value of calculated room-representative received signal strength.
  • the invention can entail an indoor location system for locating a mobile device, comprising a set of RF units configured to be positioned in a plurality of rooms in a building such that at least one of the RF units is located in each room, wherein each RF unit is configured to emit radio frequency beacon signals, each beacon signal including an identifier of the emitting RF unit and/or of the room in which the RF unit is located, the system including software for configuring at least one mobile device to be a radio frequency receiver such that the mobile device is configured to receive at least some of the beacon signals and determine a received signal strength of each of the received beacon signals; optionally, the software for configuring a said mobile device to communicate the received signal strengths to a computer module optionally connected to the RF units, each received signal strength communication including an identifier of the emitting RF unit and/or of the room in which the RF unit is located, and including an identifier of the mobile device; and_wherein the software is for configuring a said mobile device, or optionally a said computer module
  • the invention can entail an indoor location system for locating a mobile device, comprising a set of RF units configured to be positioned in a plurality of rooms in a building such that at least one of the RF units is located in each room, the system including software for configuring at least one mobile device to be a radio frequency transmitter such that the mobile device is configured to emit radio frequency beacon signals, each beacon signal including an identifier of the mobile device, and wherein each of a plurality of the RF units is configured to receive one or more of the beacon signals, determine their received signal strengths and communicate the received signal strengths to: (a) a said mobile device; or (b) a computer module optionally connected to the RF units, each received signal strength communication including an identifier of the mobile device; wherein each received signal strength communication includes an identifier of the communicating RF unit and/or of the room in which the RF unit is located, and wherein the software is for configuring a said mobile device, or optionally a said computer module is configured, to calculate from the received signal strengths a room
  • the invention can entail a mobile device or a radio frequency unit configured for use in a location system or method according to either aspect of the invention.
  • any feature, including any preferred feature, of an aspect of the invention may be a feature, including a preferred feature, of any other aspect of the invention.
  • the following description concerns all aspects of the invention. References to the location system also apply to the method of locating a mobile device, and vice versa.
  • the location system is configured for, or the method includes, a plurality of the radio frequency units (RF units) being located in each of the plurality of rooms of a building.
  • RF units radio frequency units
  • beams or “units”, herein.
  • the mobile device or the computer module, respectively, is configured to determine a unit-representative received signal strength for each radio frequency unit, from which each room-representative received signal strength is calculated.
  • the unit-representative received signal strength for each unit is an average for two or more, preferably of three or more, received beacon signals (received from that RF unit).
  • the term "average” is used throughout this specification, including the claims, to represent any of a variety of mathematical functions that may be used as measures of central tendency, including, but not limited to, the following: arithmetic mean; geometric mean; quadratic mean (root mean square, i.e. the square root of the arithmetic mean of the squares); cubic mean; harmonic mean; weighted average (i.e. weighted arithmetic mean); mode; median.
  • Preferred implementations of the invention may utilize any of these mathematical functions, or any other measures of central tendency, as the "average”.
  • the unit-representative received signal strength for each RF unit preferably is the highest average received signal strength of received beacon signals selected from a plurality of average received signal strengths of received beacon signals, each average received signal strength preferably being the average for a respective frequency channel.
  • the unit-representative received signal strength for each RF unit preferably is the highest average received signal strength of received units signals selected from three average received signal strengths of received beacon signals.
  • the mobile device, or the computer module, respectively, is configured to calculate each room-representative received signal strength, at least in part from a determination of a maximum unit-representative received signal strength for each room. Additionally or alternatively, the mobile device, or the computer module, respectively, is configured to calculate each room-representative received signal strength, at least in part from an average of unit-representative received signal strength values for that room.
  • the average of unit-representative received signal strength values may for example, be any of the following: the arithmetic mean; geometric mean; quadratic mean (root mean square, i.e. the square root of the arithmetic mean of the squares); cubic mean; harmonic mean; weighted average (i.e. weighted arithmetic mean); mode; median.
  • the average of unit-representative received signal strength values for each room preferably is an average for three units in each respective room.
  • the mobile device, or the computer module, respectively is configured to calculate each room-representative received signal strength, at least in part by multiplying the average of unit-representative received signal strength values for that room by a factor. More preferably, the mobile device, or the computer module, respectively, is configured to calculate each room-representative received signal strength by multiplying the average of unit-representative received signal strength values for that room by a factor, and by adding the product thereof to the maximum unit-representative received signal strength for that room.
  • the factor has a value of greater than zero and less than 1.
  • the mobile device or the computer module, respectively, is configured to determine that the mobile device is located in a second room which is different to that of a first room, which first room was the location of the mobile device as determined by an immediately preceding room location determination, only if the calculated room-representative received signal strength for the second room (i.e. the highest value of calculated room-representative RSS) is greater by at least a predetermined amount, preferably by at least 9.6 dB, than the value of currently calculated room-representative received signal strength for the first room.
  • the predetermined amount is sometimes referred to as the "room-separation factor" in this specification.
  • the "room-separation factor” preferably is 9.6 dB, but other predetermined differences in RSS may be used as the room-separation factor, depending upon the particular conditions and requirements (e.g. different environments and deployments).
  • the predetermined amount i.e. the "room-separation factor”
  • the predetermined amount may be a fixed amount for a particular building, or it may vary by room position within a building and/or it may vary with time and/or it may vary with wireless signal density, etc (e.g. it may be programmable).
  • the particular room-separation factor (the predetermined amount) may be transmitted to the mobile device by one or more of the RF units, for example.
  • This requirement for such a predetermined minimum difference, namely a "room-separation factor", before it is decided that the mobile device has moved from one room to another is intended to prevent (or at least reduce) the possibility that it is erroneously decided that the mobile device has moved rooms (when in fact it has not), e.g. due to variations in the RSS measurements.
  • the value of 9.6dB has been found to work well in many indoor environments, but other values (which may be pre-programmed or dynamically varied) may be used.
  • a difference by which the value of the calculated room-representative received signal strength for the second room is greater than that calculated for the first room is designated as providing at least part of a level of confidence (preferably expressed as a probability) in the room location determination.
  • the mobile device or each radio frequency unit, respectively, is configured to emit the radio frequency beacon signals periodically, preferably every predetermined fraction of a second.
  • Each radio frequency unit, or the mobile device, respectively, preferably is configured such that it functions as a radio frequency receiver, to receive the radio frequency beacon signals, periodically, preferably every predetermined fraction of a second.
  • the predetermined fraction of a second preferably may be varied.
  • the received signal strength comprises received signal strength indication (RSSI).
  • the location system and the method according to the invention further comprise a computer module (which preferably is the said computer module), the mobile device preferably being configured to report its determined room location to the computer module.
  • the mobile device and the computer module preferably are configured to communicate with each other by means of a radio frequency signal, preferably a Wi-Fi signal or a Bluetooth signal, e.g. a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE, or Bluetooth Smart) signal.
  • a radio frequency signal preferably a Wi-Fi signal or a Bluetooth signal, e.g. a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE, or Bluetooth Smart) signal.
  • BLE Bluetooth Low Energy
  • the mobile device and the computer module may be configured to communicate with each other via the RF units.
  • the (or each) computer module of the location system according to the second aspect of the invention, and of the method according to the fourth aspect of the invention is configured to be connected to the radio frequency units by means of wireless connections.
  • the system and method includes at least one gateway unit configured to wirelessly interconnect each radio frequency unit to a said computer module.
  • the wireless connections between the radio frequency units and the gateway unit preferably are configured to be Bluetooth, e.g. Bluetooth Low Energy, connections, and/or preferably the wireless connection between the gateway unit and the computer module is configured to be a Wi-Fi connection.
  • the computer module of each aspect of the invention preferably is configured to be a location engine.
  • software configured to be run on the location engine and/or on one or more computer devices configured to be connected to the location engine, provides a user interface (e.g. a display) for locating, and preferably for tracking, the (or each) mobile device in a building.
  • the computer module may be a server, desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smartphone, or cloud-based computer, for example.
  • the computer module or the mobile device may use additional information as part of the location system/method, especially in order to determine which room the mobile device is located in.
  • additional information may comprise any or all of the following, for example: building construction characteristics of the building, e.g. the types of walls, floors, ceilings of the building; the positions of the RF units in the rooms; location information relating to other mobile devices in the building; wireless signal propagation characteristics of the building, or portions of the building.
  • the radio frequency units preferably are battery powered.
  • the mobile device preferably comprises a mobile telephone or other mobile communications and/or computer device, or a radio frequency tag or transponder.
  • Each radio frequency unit preferably comprises a wireless personal area network (WPAN) unit, preferably a Bluetooth unit, especially a Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth Smart unit.
  • the radio frequency beacon signals preferably are wireless personal area network (WPAN) signals, more preferably Bluetooth signals, especially Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth Smart signals. Most preferably the radio frequency beacon signals are advertising signals, e.g. Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth Smart advertising signals.
  • each RF unit identifier preferably is a serial number, MAC address, UUID, or any other identifier which can be transmitted as part of a wireless message.
  • each RF unit identifier includes the room identifier of the room in which the RF unit is installed.
  • a plurality of mobile devices may be located by the systems and methods of the invention.
  • FIG. 1 schematically shows a building 1, which for the purpose of simplicity comprises two rooms, room A and room B.
  • a person 3 is schematically illustrated as being located in room A, and carrying a mobile device 5 in the form of either a radio frequency tag 5a or a mobile telephone (e.g. a cell phone) 5b.
  • the indoor location system comprises the mobile device 5 and a set of radio frequency units 7 (i.e. RF units 7).
  • RF units 7 i.e. RF units 7
  • at least one radio frequency unit 7 is located in each of the plurality of rooms, and as illustrated in Figure 1 , three of the radio frequency units 7 are located in each room.
  • the radio frequency units 7 are attached to the ceilings of the rooms A and B, but substantially any convenient room positions for the radio frequency units may be used.
  • the radio frequency units 7 preferably are battery powered.
  • Each radio frequency unit 7 is configured to emit radio frequency beacon signals 9, e.g. as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals, and preferably as BLE advertising signals.
  • Each beacon signal 9 includes an identifier of the emitting radio frequency unit and/or of the room in which the unit is located.
  • the mobile device 5 is configured to receive at least some of the beacon signals 9 and to determine a received signal strength of each of the received beacon signals.
  • the location system also includes a computer module 13, which may, for example, be a location engine of the location system.
  • the computer module 13 may, for example, provide a user interface, e.g. a display, by which the (or each) mobile device 5 may be located, and preferably tracked, in the building 1.
  • the mobile device 5 calculates from the received signal strengths of the beacon signals a room-representative received signal strength for each room from which the beacon signals have been received, and determines which room the mobile device is located in, by selecting the room having the highest value of calculated room-representative received signal strength.
  • the mobile device 5 also reports its determined room location wirelessly (e.g. by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) to the computer module 13.
  • the mobile device 5 wirelessly communicates (e.g. by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) the received signal strengths of the beacon signals to the computer module 13, and it is the computer module 13 which determines which room the mobile device is located in, by selecting the room having the highest value of calculated room-representative received signal strength.
  • Figure 2 (a) and Figure 2 (b) are two diagrams illustrating the process steps as used in the location system and method of Figure 1 .
  • Figure 2 (a) sets out the process steps for the version of the system in which the mobile device 5 performs the room determination
  • Figure 2 (b) sets out the process steps for the version of the system in which the computer module 13 performs the room determination.
  • the two diagrams are identical to each other, except that Figure 2 (b) includes an additional process step, identified as Box (f), by which the mobile device 5 communicates the received signal strengths to the computer module 13, so that the computer module 13 can calculate the room-representative received signal strength for each room and determine which room the mobile device is located in.
  • Box (f) an additional process step
  • Process steps (a), (b) and (c) of figures 2(a) and 2(b) comprise an initial portion of the method used by the location system, in which received signal strengths (RSS) are measured and other beacon signal data are collected.
  • Process steps (f) (for the version in which this step is present), and (j) to (r) of figures 2(a) and 2(b) are the various steps of the room determination (room discrimination) portion of the method used by the location system.
  • Box (a) of each of figures 2(a) and 2(b) specifies: "Mobile unit opens the Receiver on the selected Receive Channels for a duration of a fix and/or dynamic RX_Window", meaning that the mobile device 5 ("Mobile unit") enters its receiver mode (e.g. on up to three radio frequency channels) for a fixed or variable duration of time (“Rx_Window”).
  • the predetermined receiver mode duration is normally a fraction of a second, e.g. 300 ms, but the duration preferably is configurable, as preferably is the time spacing between the receiving windows.
  • the three radio frequency channels preferably are the three BLE advertising channels.
  • Box (b) of figures 2(a) and 2(b) specifies: "Mobile unit collects beacon signals and measures the RSS for each signal and decodes the data in the beacon", meaning that the mobile device 5 receives beacon signals 9 emitted by at least some of the radio frequency units 7, measures the received signal strengths of the beacon signals, and decodes the data in the beacon signals.
  • Each radio frequency unit 7 emits beacon signals 9 on each of the three radio frequency channels every predetermined fraction of a second, e.g. every 100 ms, but this timing is configurable.
  • Preferably up to three beacon signals per channel are received from each radio frequency unit 7 for which the mobile device 5 is in range to receive the beacon signals.
  • the mobile device 5 measures the received signal strength (RSS) of each of the beacon signals 9 which it receives.
  • RSS received signal strength
  • the RSS preferably is the received signal strength indication (RSSI), but the mobile device may be configured by the skilled person to measure the RSS in a way which is not strictly the RSSI, for example.
  • RSSI received signal strength indication
  • Each beacon signal includes an identifier of the emitting RF unit and/or of the room in which the RF unit is located.
  • Box (c) of figures 2(a) and 2(b) specifies: "Mobile unit prepares a list of all the measured RSS values of the received beacon signals during the RX_Window.
  • the list also comprises the unit and room identifier of each beacon unit for each of the received beacons", meaning that for each beacon signal 9 received by the mobile device 5 in steps (a) and (b), the mobile device stores the received signal strength (RSS) in a list, together with the identifier of the RF unit 7 from the which the beacon signal was received and/or also together with the identifier of the room in which that RF unit 7 is located.
  • RSS received signal strength
  • Sequence number RF Unit ID (Beacon unit) Room ID RX Channel Measured RSS (dBm) 1 1267 34 1 -55 2 1267 34 2 -56 3 1267 34 3 -51 22 765 34 1 -62 23 765 34 1 -61 24 765 34 2 -58 25 765 34 2 -59 8 112 34 1 -39 9 112 34 1 -40 10 112 34 3 -36 11 112 34 3 -37 42 231 34 1 -83 43 231 34 1 -81 44 231 34 1 -81 45 231 34 3 -79 11 97 52 1 -86 12 97 52 1 -87 13 97 52 2 -85 14 97 52 2 -85 15 97 52 3 -86 16 97 52 3 -86
  • the sequence numbers indicate the order in which the beacon signals are received during the signal reception window of time; "RF Unit ID” is the identifier of the RF unit which emitted a particular beacon signal; “Room ID” is the identifier of the room in which the respective RF unit is located; “RX Channel” is the RF channel in which the beacon signal was transmitted and received; and “Measured RSS (dBm)” is the received signal strength (measured in dBm) of the respective beacon signal as determined by the mobile device.
  • Box (f) of Figure 2(b) specifies: "Mobile unit transmits the list of measured RSS values to the computer module, to allow the computer module perform room selection", meaning that in the Figure 2(b) version of the location system of the invention, in this process step, the mobile device 5 communicates the received signal strengths to the computer module 13, each received signal strength communication including the identifier of the emitting RF unit and/or of the room in which the RF unit is located (e.g. as indicated in the above list example), and including an identifier of the mobile device.
  • RSS received signal strength
  • the average of received signal strength values may for example, be any of the following: the arithmetic mean; geometric mean; quadratic mean (root mean square, i.e. the square root of the arithmetic mean of the squares); cubic mean; harmonic mean; weighted average (i.e. weighted arithmetic mean); mode; median.
  • Box (k) of figures 2(a) and 2(b) specifies: "For each Room select up to 3 Beacon Representative with highest RSS (same Room ID)", meaning that, for each room (e.g. A and B) of the building 1, the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) preferably selects up to three unit-representative received signal strength (RSS) values.
  • RSS received signal strength
  • the unit-representative RSS determines whether there are fewer than three radio frequency units 7 in a particular room, for which the unit-representative RSS has been calculated. If there are fewer than three radio frequency units 7 in a particular room, for which the unit-representative RSS has been calculated, then preferably the one or two unit-representative RSS which has/have been calculated are selected. If there are more than three radio frequency units 7 in a particular room, for which the unit-representative RSS has been calculated, then preferably the three highest (greatest calculated value) unit-representative RSS are selected.
  • the factor preferably is less than 1 and greater than zero. In a preferred implementation of the invention, the factor is chosen to be 0.1875.
  • the final part of this calculation is to add together the results of the two calculation parts, to obtain a received signal strength value which is designated as the room-representative received signal strength value for that room (i.e. the "Room Representative" RSS for that room).
  • the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) performs this calculation for each of the rooms from which the mobile device has received beacon signals 9 and measured their RSS in the process step of Box (b).
  • the average of the unit-representative received signal strength values may for example, be any of the following: the arithmetic mean; geometric mean; quadratic mean (root mean square, i.e. the square root of the arithmetic mean of the squares); cubic mean; harmonic mean; weighted average (i.e. weighted arithmetic mean); mode; median.
  • Box (m) of figures 2(a) and 2(b) specifies: "Select the Room with the highest Room Representative. This is the New Room ID", meaning that the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) then selects the greatest calculated value of room-representative received signal strength (RSS), as calculated for Box (I) above, and the room identifier (Room ID) of the room with that greatest room-representative RSS becomes the provisional new room location determination for the mobile device ("New Room ID").
  • the room location determination ends here, with the provisional new room location determination ("New Room ID") being designated as the room location determination for the mobile device ("Room ID").
  • the method used by the location system continues with the following process steps.
  • Decision Box (n) of figures 2(a) and 2(b) specifies: "Last Room ID Valid?", meaning that the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) determines whether or not there is a pre-existing valid determined room location for the mobile device ("Last Room ID"). If there is a pre-existing valid room location ("Last Room ID") for the mobile device 5, this is because a room location determination for the mobile device 5 has previously been validly carried out, and "Last Room ID” has been designated (in the process step of Box (q) below) in a previous performance of the room location determination method. If there is a pre-existing valid room location determination for the mobile device 5, then the method of the location system proceeds to the process step of Box (p).
  • the method of the location system proceeds to the process step of Box (q).
  • the current room location determination procedure may be the first one to have been carried out while the mobile device 5 has been in the building (e.g. the mobile device has just been brought into the building, or has just been switched on), or a valid Last Room ID has expired after a pre-set period of time, or the mobile device has been located by another means (e.g. by GPS), or there may be an error or inconsistency in the room determination process for the mobile device.
  • Decision Box (p) of figures 2(a) and 2(b) specifies: "Is Room Representative [New Room ID] > Room Representative [Last Room ID] + Room-separation factor?", meaning that the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) then carries out a calculation to determine whether or not the mobile device has moved rooms, as follows. This calculation requires a minimum threshold difference in calculated values (the "Room-separation factor"), to ensure that a determination that the mobile device has moved rooms is correct. This is done by comparing the current greatest calculated value of room-representative received signal strength as selected for Box (m) above (i.e.
  • Room-separation factor a "Room-separation factor" than Room Representative [Last Room ID]
  • the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13 determines that the room in which the mobile device is currently located is a room (e.g. Room B) which is a different room to a room (e.g. Room A) in which the mobile device was determined to be located by the immediately preceding room location determination process. If Room Representative [New Room ID] is not greater by at least the predetermined amount than Room Representative [Last Room ID], then the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) determines that the mobile device is still located in the first room (e.g. Room A).
  • the "Room-separation factor” preferably is 9.6 dB, but other predetermined differences in RSS may be used as the Room-separation factor, depending upon the particular conditions and requirements. This requirement for such a predetermined minimum difference, namely a "Room-separation factor", before it is decided that the mobile device has moved from one room to another is intended to prevent (or at least reduce) the possibility that it is erroneously decided that the mobile device has moved rooms (when in fact it has not), e.g. due to variations in the RSS measurements.
  • the value of 9.6dB has been found to work well in many indoor environments, but other values (which may be pre-programmed or dynamically varied) may be used.
  • the value of the difference between "Room Representative (New Room ID)" and "Room Representative (Last Room ID)” may also be used to provide a level of confidence in the room location determination decision.
  • the confidence level may be expressed as a probability of the mobile unit being located in the reported Room ID, e.g. expressed as a value between 0 and 1, preferably between 0.5 and 1.
  • the probability may also be affected by other factors related to the room determination process (e.g. absolute RSS values, number of beacon signals received, etc.).
  • Report Room ID New Room ID.”, meaning that: (i) the New Room ID selected in the process step of Box (m) is designated as the Last Room ID (for the purposes of the process steps of boxes (n) and (p) in the next room location determination process); and (ii) the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) reports that the current location of the mobile device is the New Room ID as selected in the process step of Box (m) (i.e. the provisional new room location determination of Box (m) is no longer provisional, but instead is now the reported determined current room location of the mobile device).
  • the mobile device preferably wirelessly reports this room location determination to the computer module, and the computer module thus also reports the room location determination.
  • the mobile device in those implementations of the invention in which the mobile device performs the room location determination calculation, the mobile device preferably wirelessly reports this room location determination to the computer module, and the computer module thus also reports the room location determination.
  • FIG 3 is a schematic drawing of a building incorporating an example of a location system according to the second and sixth aspects of the invention, using an example of a locating method according to the fourth aspect of the invention.
  • Figure 3 differs from Figure 1 by virtue of the fact that in the second aspect of the invention it is the mobile device 5 (e.g. a tag 5a or a mobile telephone 5b) which emits the beacon signals 9, and each of a plurality of the radio frequency units 7 receives one or more of the beacon signals.
  • Each beacon signal 9 preferably is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signal, especially a BLE advertising signal, and includes an identifier of the mobile device 5.
  • BLE Bluetooth Low Energy
  • Each radio frequency unit 7 which receives a beacon signal measures its received signal strength.
  • the received signal strengths are communicated by the radio frequency units 7 to the computer module 13 (which may, for example, by a location engine of the location system), or in a different implementation of the invention, the received signal strengths are communicated wirelessly (e.g. by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) by the radio frequency units 7 to the mobile device 5.
  • the computer module 13, or the mobile device 5 calculates from the received signal strengths a room-representative received signal strength for each room from which the received signal strengths have been communicated, and determines which room the mobile unit 5 is located in, by selecting the room having the highest value of calculated room-representative received signal strength.
  • Each communication of received signal strength includes an identifier of the communicating unit 7 and/or of the room in which the unit is located, and includes an identifier of the mobile device.
  • the communication of the received signal strengths from the radio frequency units 7 to the computer module 13 may be by wireless communications 11, for example Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (e.g. BLE), or it may be by wired or other hardware connections.
  • wireless communications between the radio frequency units 7 and the computer module 13 at least one gateway module or unit 15 may (or may not) be included, for example for receiving Bluetooth (e.g. BLE) received signal strength communications 17 from the radio frequency units and transferring the communications to the computer module via Wi-Fi communications 19.
  • the communications 17 and 19 in combination thus comprise the received signal strength communications.
  • the computer module 13, or the mobile device 5 calculates from the received signal strengths a room-representative received signal strength for each room from which the received signal strengths have been communicated, and determines which room the mobile unit 5 is located in, by selecting the room having the highest value of calculated room-representative received signal strength. If the mobile device 5 has carried out the room location determination, this preferably is reported wirelessly to the computer module 13.
  • the computer module 13 may, for example, provide a user interface by which the (or each) mobile device 5 may be located, and preferably tracked, in the building 1.
  • Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the process steps as used in the location system and method of Figure 3 .
  • the diagram of Figure 4 illustrates a version of the method of the invention in which the computer module performs the room location determination portion.
  • the process steps of boxes (j) to (r) of Figure 4 are identical to those of figures 2(a) and 2(b) , in which the mobile device, or the computer module, (respectively) performs the room location determination portion of the method.
  • Box (g) of Figure 4 specifies: "Each RF unit opens its Receiver on the selected Receive Channels for a duration of a fix and/or dynamic RX_Window", meaning that each RF unit 7 enters its receiver mode (e.g. on up to three radio frequency channels) for a fixed or variable duration of time (“Rx_Window”).
  • the predetermined receiver mode duration is normally a fraction of a second, e.g. 300 ms, but the duration preferably is configurable, as preferably is the time spacing between the receiving windows.
  • the three radio frequency channels preferably are the three BLE advertising channels.
  • Box (h) of Figure 4 specifies: "Each RF unit in communication range with the mobile unit collects the mobile unit packets during the RX_Window, measures the RSS of each packet and transfers to the computer module the measured RSS values together with the mobile unit ID, and unit and room identifiers of the RF unit".
  • the measured RSS values are transferred to the mobile device 5 rather than to the computer module 13.
  • the mobile device 5 emits beacon signals 9 on each of the three radio frequency channels every predetermined fraction of a second, e.g. every 100 ms, but this timing is configurable.
  • Preferably up to three beacon signals per channel are received by each radio frequency unit 7 with which the mobile device 5 is in communication range.
  • Each RF unit 7 measures the received signal strength (RSS) of each of the beacon signals 9 which it receives.
  • the RSS preferably is the received signal strength indication (RSSI), but the RF units may be configured by the skilled person to measure the RSS in a way which is not strictly the RSSI, for example.
  • Each beacon signal includes an identifier of the emitting mobile device.
  • Box (i) of Figure 4 specifies: "The computer module prepares a list of all the received RSS reports grouped per Mobile unit ID and sorted per unit and room identifier of the RF unit", meaning that for each emitting mobile device 5, the computer module 13 stores the received signal strength (RSS) communications in a list, together with the identifiers of the RF units 7 which received the beacon signals and/or also together with the identifier of the room in which the RF units 7 are located.
  • RSS received signal strength
  • the "Mobile Unit ID” numbers are the identifiers of the emitting mobile devices 5 (there are two emitting mobile devices indicated in the above list); the sequence numbers indicate the order in which the beacon signals are received during the signal reception window of time; "RF Unit ID” is the identifier of the RF unit which received a particular beacon signal; "Room ID” is the identifier of the room in which the respective RF unit is located; “RX Channel” is the RF channel in which the beacon signal was transmitted and received; and "Measured RSS (dBm)” is the received signal strength (measured in dBm) of the respective beacon signal as determined by the respective RF unit.
  • process steps of boxes (j) to (r) of Figure 4 may be carried out by the computer module 13 or by the mobile device 5.
  • These process steps, whether carried out by the mobile device 5 or by the computer module 13, are the substantive steps of the room determination (room discrimination) portion of the method used by the location system of the invention.
  • Beacon Representative MAX (Average RSS Ch1, ...Average RSS ChN)", meaning that the mobile device 15, or the computer module 13, (respectively) calculates the average received signal strength (RSS) per radio frequency channel, and then selects the highest (i.e. the maximum value) average RSS, which is then designated as the representative RSS for that radio frequency unit 7 (i.e. the "Beacon Representative RSS” for that "beacon", i.e. for that RF unit 7).
  • the average of received signal strength values may for example, be any of the following: the arithmetic mean; geometric mean; quadratic mean (root mean square, i.e. the square root of the arithmetic mean of the squares); cubic mean; harmonic mean; weighted average (i.e. weighted arithmetic mean); mode; median.
  • Box (k) of Figure 4 specifies: "For each Room select up to 3 Beacon Representative with highest RSS (same Room ID)", meaning that, for each room (e.g. A and B) of the building 1, the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) preferably selects up to three unit-representative received signal strength (RSS) values.
  • RSS received signal strength
  • the unit-representative RSS determines whether there are fewer than three radio frequency units 7 in a particular room, for which the unit-representative RSS has been calculated. If there are fewer than three radio frequency units 7 in a particular room, for which the unit-representative RSS has been calculated, then preferably the one or two unit-representative RSS which has/have been calculated are selected. If there are more than three radio frequency units 7 in a particular room, for which the unit-representative RSS has been calculated, then preferably the three highest (greatest calculated value) unit-representative RSS are selected.
  • the factor is chosen to be 0.1875.
  • the final part of this calculation is to add together the results of the two calculation parts, to obtain a received signal strength value which is designated as the room-representative received signal strength value for that room (i.e. the "Room Representative" RSS for that room).
  • the average of the unit-representative received signal strength values may for example, be any of the following: the arithmetic mean; geometric mean; quadratic mean (root mean square, i.e. the square root of the arithmetic mean of the squares); cubic mean; harmonic mean; weighted average (i.e. weighted arithmetic mean); mode; median.
  • Box (m) of Figure 4 specifies: "Select the Room with the highest Room Representative. This is the New Room ID", meaning that the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) then selects the greatest calculated value of room-representative received signal strength (RSS), as calculated for Box (I) above, and the room identifier (Room ID) of the room with that greatest room-representative RSS becomes the provisional new room location determination for the mobile device ("New Room ID").
  • the room location determination ends here, with the provisional new room location determination ("New Room ID") being designated as the room location determination for the mobile device ("Room ID").
  • the method used by the location system continues with the following process steps.
  • Decision Box (n) of Figure 4 specifies: "Last Room ID Valid?", meaning that the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) determines whether or not there is a pre-existing valid determined room location for the mobile device ("Last Room ID"). If there is a pre-existing valid room location ("Last Room ID") for the mobile device 5, this is because a room location determination for the mobile device 5 has previously been validly carried out, and "Last Room ID” has been designated (in the process step of Box (q) below) in a previous performance of the room location determination method. If there is a pre-existing valid room location determination for the mobile device 5, then the method of the location system proceeds to the process step of Box (p).
  • the method of the location system proceeds to the process step of Box (q).
  • the current room location determination procedure may be the first one to have been carried out while the mobile device 5 has been in the building (e.g. the mobile device has just been brought into the building, or has just been switched on), or a valid Last Room ID has expired after a pre-set period of time, or the mobile device has been located by another means (e.g. by GPS), or there may be an error or inconsistency in the room determination process for the mobile device.
  • Decision Box (p) of Figure 4 specifies: "Is Room Representative [New Room ID] > Room Representative [Last Room ID] + Room-separation factor?", meaning that the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) then carries out a calculation to determine whether or not the mobile device has moved rooms, as follows. This calculation requires a minimum threshold difference in calculated values (the "Room-separation factor"), to ensure that a determination that the mobile device has moved rooms is correct. This is done by comparing the current greatest calculated value of room-representative received signal strength as selected for Box (m) above (i.e.
  • Room-separation factor a "Room-separation factor" than Room Representative [Last Room ID]
  • the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13 determines that the room in which the mobile device is currently located is a room (e.g. Room B) which is a different room to a room (e.g. Room A) in which the mobile device was determined to be located by the immediately preceding room location determination process. If Room Representative [New Room ID] is not greater by at least the predetermined amount than Room Representative [Last Room ID], then the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) determines that the mobile device is still located in the first room (e.g. Room A).
  • the "Room-separation factor” preferably is 9.6 dB, but other predetermined differences in RSS may be used as the Room-separation factor, depending upon the particular conditions and requirements. This requirement for such a predetermined minimum difference, namely a "Room-separation factor", before it is decided that the mobile device has moved from one room to another is intended to prevent (or at least reduce) the possibility that it is erroneously decided that the mobile device has moved rooms (when in fact it has not), e.g. due to variations in the RSS measurements.
  • the value of 9.6dB has been found to work well in many indoor environments, but other values (which may be pre-programmed or dynamically varied) may be used.
  • the value of the difference between "Room Representative (New Room ID)" and "Room Representative (Last Room ID)” may also be used to provide a level of confidence in the room location determination decision.
  • the confidence level may be expressed as a probability of the mobile unit being located in the reported Room ID, e.g. expressed as a value between 0 and 1, preferably between 0.5 and 1.
  • the probability may also be affected by other factors related to the room determination process (e.g. absolute RSS values, number of beacon signals received, etc.).
  • Box (n) If the decision of Box (n) is that there is no valid pre-existing room identifier, or if the decision of Box (p) is that Room Representative [New Room ID] is greater by at least the predetermined amount (the "Room-separation factor") than Room Representative [Last Room ID] (i.e. that the mobile device has moved room locations), then the method of the location system proceeds to the process step of Box (q).
  • Report Room ID New Room ID.”, meaning that: (i) the New Room ID selected in the process step of Box (m) is designated as the Last Room ID (for the purposes of the process steps of boxes (n) and (p) in the next room location determination process); and (ii) the mobile device 5, or the computer module 13, (respectively) reports that the current location of the mobile device is the New Room ID as selected in the process step of Box (m) (i.e. the provisional new room location determination of Box (m) is no longer provisional, but instead is now the reported determined current room location of the mobile device).
  • the mobile device preferably wirelessly reports this room location determination to the computer module, and the computer module thus also reports the room location determination.
  • the mobile device in those implementations of the invention in which the mobile device performs the room location determination calculation, the mobile device preferably wirelessly reports this room location determination to the computer module, and the computer module thus also reports the room location determination.

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Claims (11)

  1. Innenortungssystem zum Lokalisieren einer mobilen Vorrichtung (5), umfassend mindestens eine als Radiofrequenzempfänger konfigurierte mobile Vorrichtung (5) und einen Satz von RF-(Radiofrequenz)-Einheiten (7), die derart konfiguriert sind, dass sie in einer Mehrzahl von Räumen (A, B) in einem Gebäude (1) angeordnet sind, sodass sich eine Mehrzahl der RF-Einheiten (7) in jedem Raum (A, B) befindet, wobei jede RF-Einheit (7) konfiguriert ist, Radiofrequenz-Bakensignale (9) zu emittieren, wobei jedes Bakensignal (9) eine Kennung der emittierenden RF-Einheit (7) und/oder des Raums (A, B) aufweist, in dem sich die RF-Einheit (7) befindet, und wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) konfiguriert ist, mindestens einige der Bakensignale (9) zu empfangen und eine empfangene Signalstärke von jedem der empfangenen Bakensignale zu bestimmen;
    wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) wahlweise konfiguriert ist, die empfangenen Signalstärken an ein Computermodul (13) zu übermitteln, das wahlweise mit den RF-Einheiten (7) verbunden ist, wobei jede Übermittlung von empfangenen Signalstärken eine Kennung der emittierenden RF-Einheit (7) und/oder des Raums (A, B) aufweist, in dem sich die RF-Einheit (7) befindet, und eine Kennung der mobilen Vorrichtung (5) aufweist; und
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die mobilen Vorrichtung (5) bzw. das Computermodul (13) konfiguriert sind, aus den empfangenen Signalstärken eine raumrepräsentative empfangene Signalstärke für jeden Raum (A, B) zu berechnen, aus dem die Bakensignale empfangen wurden, und zu bestimmen, in welchem Raum sich die mobile Vorrichtung (5) befindet, durch Auswählen des Raums (A, B) mit dem höchsten Wert der berechneten, raumrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärke, wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) bzw. das Computermodul (13) konfiguriert sind, eine einheitsrepräsentative empfangene Signalstärke für jede RF-Einheit (7) zu bestimmen, die ein Durchschnitt von zwei oder mehreren empfangenen Bakensignalen (9) ist, und die mobile Vorrichtung (5) bzw. das Computermodul (13) konfiguriert sind, jede raumrepräsentative empfangene Signalstärke mindestens teilweise aus einer Bestimmung einer maximalen einheitsrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärke und/oder einem Durchschnitt von einheitsrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärkenwerten für jeden Raum (A, B) zu berechnen.
  2. Innenortungssystem zum Lokalisieren einer mobilen Vorrichtung (5), umfassend mindestens eine als Radiofrequenzsender konfigurierte mobile Vorrichtung (5) und einen Satz von RF-(Radiofrequenz)-Einheiten (7), die derart konfiguriert sind, dass sie in einer Mehrzahl von Räumen (A, B) in einem Gebäude (1) angeordnet sind, sodass sich eine Mehrzahl der RF-Einheiten (7) in jedem Raum (A, B) befindet, wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) konfiguriert ist, Radiofrequenz-Bakensignale (9) zu emittieren, wobei jedes Bakensignal (9) eine Kennung der mobilen Vorrichtung (5) aufweist und wobei die jede der Mehrzahl der RF-Einheiten (7) konfiguriert ist, ein oder mehrere der Bakensignale (9) zu empfangen, ihre empfangene Signalstärken zu bestimmen und die empfangenen Bakensignale zu übermitteln an:
    (a) die mobile Vorrichtung (5); oder
    (b) ein Computermodul (13), das wahlweise mit den RF-Einheiten (7) verbunden ist, wobei jede Übermittlung einer empfangenen Signalstärke eine Kennung der mobilen Vorrichtung (5) aufweist;
    wobei jede Übermittlung einer empfangenen Signalstärke eine Kennung der übermittelnden RF-Einheit (7) und/oder des Raums (A, B) aufweist, in dem sich die RF-Einheit (7) befindet; und
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die mobilen Vorrichtung (5) bzw. das Computermodul (13) konfiguriert sind, aus den empfangenen Signalstärken eine raumrepräsentative empfangene Signalstärke für jeden Raum (A, B) zu berechnen, aus dem die empfangenen Signalstärken übermittelt wurden, und zu bestimmen, in welchem Raum (A, B) sich die mobile Vorrichtung (5) befindet, durch Auswählen des Raums (A, B) mit dem höchsten Wert der berechneten, raumrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärke, wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) bzw. das Computermodul (13) konfiguriert sind, eine einheitsrepräsentative empfangene Signalstärke für jede RF-Einheit (7) zu bestimmen, die ein Durchschnitt von zwei oder mehreren empfangenen Bakensignalen (9) ist, und die mobile Vorrichtung (5) bzw. das Computermodul (13) konfiguriert sind, jede raumrepräsentative empfangene Signalstärke mindestens teilweise aus einer Bestimmung einer maximalen einheitsrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärke und/oder einem Durchschnitt von einheitsrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärkenwerten für jeden Raum (A, B) zu berechnen.
  3. Ortungssystem nach Anspruch 1 oder Anspruch 2, wobei die einheitsrepräsentative empfangene Signalstärke für jede RF-Einheit (7) die höchste durchschnittliche empfangene Signalstärke von empfangenen Bakensignalen (9) ist, die aus einer Mehrzahl, vorzugsweise von drei durchschnittlichen empfangenen Signalstärken von Bakensignalen (9) ausgewählt sind, wobei jede durchschnittliche empfangene Signalstärke der Durchschnitt für einen jeweiligen Frequenzkanal ist.
  4. Ortungssystem nach Anspruch 1 oder Anspruch 2, wobei der Durchschnitt der einheitsrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärkenwerte für jeden Raum (A, B) ein Durchschnitt für drei Einheiten (7) in jedem jeweiligen Raum (A, B) ist.
  5. Ortungssystem nach Anspruch 1 oder Anspruch 2, wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) bzw. das Computermodul (13) konfiguriert sind, jede raumrepräsentative empfangene Signalstärke mindestens teilweise durch Multiplizieren des Durchschnitts von einheitsrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärkenwerten für diesen Raum (A, B) um einen Faktor zu berechnen.
  6. Ortungssystem nach Anspruch 5, wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) bzw. das Computermodul (13) konfiguriert sind, jede raumrepräsentative empfangene Signalstärke durch Multiplizieren des Durchschnitts von einheitsrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärkenwerten für diesen Raum (A, B) um einen Faktor und durch Addieren des Produkts davon zu der maximalen einheitsrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärke für diesen Raum (A, B) zu berechnen.
  7. Ortungssystem nach einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) bzw. das Computermodul (13) konfiguriert sind, zu bestimmen, dass sich die mobile Vorrichtung (5) in einem zweiten Raum (B) befindet, der ein anderer ist als ein erster Raum (A), wobei der erste Raum (A) der Standort der mobilen Vorrichtung (5) war, der durch eine unmittelbar vorhergehende Raumstandortbestimmung bestimmt wurde, nur dann, wenn der höchste Wert einer berechneten raumrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärke für den zweiten Raum (B) um mindestens einen vorbestimmten Betrag, der vorzugsweise programmierbar ist, vorzugsweise um mindestens 9,6 dB, größer als der Wert einer aktuell berechneten raumrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärke für den ersten Raum (A) ist.
  8. Ortungssystem nach Anspruch 7, wobei eine Differenz, um die der Wert der berechneten raumrepräsentativen empfangenen Signalstärke für den zweiten Raum (B) größer ist als der für den ersten Raum (A) berechnete, derart bezeichnet ist, dass sie mindestens einen Teil eines Vertrauensniveaus bereitstellt, das vorzugsweise als eine Wahrscheinlichkeit bei der Raumstandortbestimmung ausgedrückt ist.
  9. Ortungssystem nach einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) bzw. jede RF-Einheit (7) konfiguriert ist, die Radiofrequenz-Bakensignale (9) periodisch, vorzugsweise jeden vorbestimmten Bruchteil einer Sekunde zu emittieren.
  10. Ortungssystem nach einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) bzw. jede RF-Einheit (7) konfiguriert ist, als Radiofrequenzempfänger zu fungieren, um die Radiofrequenz-Bakensignale (9) periodisch zu empfangen.
  11. Ortungssystem nach Anspruch 10, wobei die mobile Vorrichtung (5) bzw. jede RF-Einheit (7) derart konfiguriert ist, dass sie die Radiofrequenz-Bakensignale (9) periodisch, vorzugsweise jeden vorbestimmten Bruchteil einer Sekunde emittiert.
EP17153372.2A 2016-02-09 2017-01-26 Innenortungssystem Active EP3206043B1 (de)

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EP3524998A2 (de) 2019-08-14
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US20170230801A1 (en) 2017-08-10
GB201602315D0 (en) 2016-03-23
EP3524998A3 (de) 2019-09-04

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